Are Compact Discs On The Way Out?

Could CD's finally .. really .. be on the way out!?

They've been saying it for years, but now I'm thinking the end may really be near.  Granted a few hardores will always want the little booklets and extras that sometimes come with them but, in general, it may finally be over for the compact disc!

As early as the late 80's, there was speculation that the discs themselves would start to fail/crack/disintegrate after so many years. That hasn't been the case. (Except for my discs but, I kind of had a lot to do with those cracks and failures.  Flying out of car windows, getting stepped on and being microwaved will cause drastic damage and render them pretty much unusable.)  

Then, rumors started that the record companies and artists were going to just stop making discs. Period.  As far back as '97, the end was supposed to be near.

In 2004, once again the future of the disc was in jeopardy.  At least according to this article from 2004.

Next came word that record labels themselves were reducing the amount of discs made and shipped.  EMI Records stopped shipping cd's to indie record stores and, in March of this year, Mercury Records quit producing cd singles period!!. 

(Artists have also chosen to go the "Only Mega Stores" path.  Just about the last straw for the simple neighborhood record store.  Another bit of rock history soon to lost forever.)

Some pin the discs demise on operations such as netflix. Read more from techland.time.com

Now it looks even more likely that the death knell for discs is near.  And, it may be coming from it's creators.  The major labels are looking at eleminating them acording to sideline.com

(Speaking from the "inside" here at radio; labels going to "download only" status has been strongly rumored lately.)

One more thought on the matter.  I'm not sure when this was written ... for that matter; I'm not even sure I understand what the hell it's talking about! Something I found at gadgetopia.com.

One more argument against our poor little discs.  This time from a producers mind.  No more cds

Albums, I used to always keep for the artwork and things bands would put in them.  CD's .. when they bother to put something cool in/on them .. aren't big enough for you to really "get it".  Therefore, I'd pick comment #3 from the ones below!!

Ultimately, we'll just have to wait and see!  For now though, what do you guys think??    

1)  It's time for CD's to walk the green mile! 

2)  I'd prefer to see them survive a bit longer! 

3)  I don't really give a sh** which way it goes; as long as I have a cd player AND my computer/ipod/etc!!